Swab for collecting biological specimens

• US 10,327,741 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2015
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Copan Italia SpA
• Original Assignee: Copan Italia SpA
• Inventors: Triva, Daniele
• Primary Examiner(s): Cerioni, Daniel L
• Application Number:
  US14/858,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20160045188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 600572
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0045 Devices for taking samples of body liquids devices for taking blood samples A61B5/15
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/38 Swabs having a stick-type handle, e.g. cotton tips ear cleaners other than cotton tips A61F11/006; swabs containing a liquid, e.g. in a rupturable reservoir, A61M35/006
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/087 Ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0832 cylindrical, tube shaped
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/161 Control and use of surface tension forces, e.g. hydrophobic, hydrophilic
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5029 using swabs
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 33/02 by impregnation, e.g. using swabs or loops fluid transport using swabs B01L3/5029

Abstract

The present invention relates to a swab for collecting biological specimens of the type consisting of a rod terminating in a tip covered with fiber with hydrophilic properties to allow absorption of said specimens, wherein said fiber covers said tip in the form of a layer deposited by flocking.

Claims

1. A biological specimen collection swab configured for collecting biological specimen to be analyzed, the swab comprising:

a rod, terminating in a tip; and

a layer of fibers which were disposed on a surface of the tip by flocking in an oriented manner in an electrostatic field, the layer of fibers having a thickness of 0.6 to 3 mm and being configured to have capillarity hydrophilic properties and configured to be capable of absorbing at least a quantity of 40 μ

l of liquid in the layer of fibers on the tip of the rod.

2. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said layer of fibers is configured to be capable of absorbing at least a quantity of 100 μ

l of liquid in the layer of fibers on the tip of the rod.

3. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said layer of fibers is configured to absorb said specimen by capillarity effect.

4. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said layer of fibers has an amount of fibers capable of absorbing said quantity of liquid.

5. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said fibers define capillaries conferring hydrophilic properties to the layer of fibers by capillarity.

6. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said layer of fibers was disposed on the surface of the tip by a flocking technique in which the fibers were deposited in an ordered manner on the tip of the rod.

7. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said layer of fibers was disposed on the surface of the tip by a flocking technique in which the fibers were deposited perpendicularly to the surface of the tip of the rod.

8. The swab according to claim 1, wherein said layer of fibers is directly deposited on a surface of said tip and/or wherein the layer of fibers covers the tip of the rod.

9. The swab according to claim 1 wherein said fibers have a length of 0.6 to 3 mm.

10. The swab according to claim 1, wherein said layer of fibers has a fiber count of 1.7 to 3.3 Dtex.

11. The swab according to claim 1, wherein said rod is a plastic rod and wherein the tip of the rod is rigid.

12. The swab according to claim 1, wherein said rod is a plastic rod and has a diameter from 1 mm to 2.5 mm.

13. The swab according to claim 1, wherein the fibers are made of polyester and/or polyamide.

14. A method of collecting a specimen comprising liquid by using a swab according to claim 1, the method comprising the step of collecting a specimen by absorbing a quantity of at least 40 μ

l of said liquid in said layer of fibers disposed on the tip of the rod.

15. The method of claim 14 in which at least 100 μ

l of said liquid is absorbed in said layer of fibers disposed on the tip of the rod during said step of collecting a specimen.

16. The method of claim 14 in which said liquid is absorbed in said layer of fibers on the tip of the rod by capillarity effect during said step of collecting a specimen.

17. The method according to claim 14 further comprising steps of storing and transporting said quantity of specimen in said layer of fibers and/or a step of releasing said quantity of specimen from said layer of fibers and/or a step of analyzing said quantity of specimen.

18. A biological specimen collection swab configured for collecting biological specimen to be analyzed, the swab comprising:

a rod, terminating in a tip; and

a layer of fibers which were disposed on a surface of the tip by flocking in an oriented manner in an electrostatic field, the fibers having a length of 0.6 to 3 mm and the layer of fibers being configured to have capillarity hydrophilic properties and configured to be capable of absorbing at least a quantity of 40 μ

l of liquid in the layer of fibers on the tip of the rod.

19. The swab according to claim 18 wherein said layer of fibers is configured to be capable of absorbing at least a quantity of 100 μ

l of liquid in the layer of fibers on the tip of the rod.

20. The swab according to claim 18, wherein said layer of fibers has a fiber count of 1.7 to 3.3 Dtex.

21. The swab according to claim 18, wherein said rod is a plastic rod and wherein the tip of the rod is rigid.